The weapons department aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts a ammunition on load during a vertical replenishment while underway. Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP is a method of supply of seaborne vessels by helicopter. The ammunition on load is the final requirement in order for the ship to deploy this summer.

USS America (LHA-6), the fourth American warship to be named for the United States of America, is the first of the America-class amphibious assault ships for the U.S. Navy.

The ship’s design is based on USS Makin Island, but to allow more room for aviation facilities she does not have a well deck, and has smaller medical spaces. With a displacement of 45,000 tons, she is as large as the aircraft carriers of many other nations, and can fulfill similar missions when configured with F-35B strike fighters. (Source: